A large number of small parties have emerged over the last two decades. Most lack political weight, some exist only on paper, and none of them boasts a membership in excess of 10,000. These minor parties are supported by the ruling regime only to the extent that they receive a mandatory grant towards party expenses of LE100,000 a year. Reem Leila sheds light on the small players Al-Ahrar Party Al-Ahrar was founded in 1976 as part of late president Anwar Al-Sadat's attempts to introduce a multi-party system. It is currently led by Helmi Ahmed Salem. The party boycotted the parliamentary elections of 1990, and managed to secure a single seat in 1995, 2000 and 2005. It is nominating 71 candidates, including 10 women. Al-Ahrar is pressing for the introduction of educational reforms and greater protection of civil liberties, including freedom of the press. It is committed to strengthening the private sector as well as protecting the interests of the economically marginalised, including labourers and farmers. It would also like to see a new constitution that guarantees the integrity and transparency of elections, expand powers allocated to the People's Assembly to include the right to modify the state budget, and introduce regular votes of confidence on the government's performance. The Ghad Party (Tomorrow) Founded in October 2004, the Ghad is a centrist secular political party that has pressed for a widening of political participation and the peaceful rotation of power. The party was set up by disaffected members of the Wafd Party. It promotes a liberal democratic perspective with a strong accent on human rights issues. The party was founded by political activist and lawyer Ayman Nour. In the 2005 presidential election he took 540,405 votes, coming second to President Hosni Mubarak. Subsequently, Nour was jailed on alleged fraud charges and the party split, with the faction associated with the Ghad's deputy chairman Moussa Mustafa Moussa taking control. The party has pressed for political and economic reform, though with special provisions to protect the most vulnerable in society. According to Moussa, the party will be fielding 100 candidates, six of them women. Businessman Moussa won a Shura Council seat in the elections last April, winning 118,000 votes against 20,000 for the National Democratic Party (NDP) candidate. Moussa has indicated his intention to stand in the September 2011 presidential poll. Al-Takaful (Solidarity) Al-Takaful was created in February 1995. The party is headed by Osama Shaltout, a professor of economics at Cairo University who has doctorate degrees in Islamic studies and military strategy. Shaltout stood in the 2005 presidential election but barely took any votes. Among the party's policies is the abolition of the tax system, replaced by a one per cent deduction from the fortune "of every rich man to finance an ambitious programme that guarantees every Egyptian a monthly payment on top of earnings and free medical care." The party, says Shaltout, will field 40 candidates in the elections, three of them women. "The party stood in both the 2005 and 2000 elections but failed to win a seat. This year we hope to change that." The Green Party Following the success of Western environmental groups, Egypt's own Green Party was formed in 1990. Activities of the party were frozen in 1993, and it only resumed functioning after a court order in 1998. Headed by former military physician Abdel-Moneim El-Assar, it says its objectives are essentially non-political, its main concern "to protect the environment from the people and the people from the environment". Al-Assar was appointed to the Shura Council in 2005. The party has launched several environmental campaigns with little success. It has asked farmers to stop throwing the carcasses of dead animals into the Nile and has pressed for a reduction in industrial pollutants from factories in and around the southern Cairo suburb of Helwan. The party's headquarters is an apartment in Giza, and it claims 9,000 members. Al-Assar readily admits that for the Greens to have an impact will take "effort and money". The Green party is fielding 60 candidates, 10 of them women. "None of our candidates won a seat in either the 2000 or 2005 elections. This time round we hope at east four will make it to parliament," says Al-Assar. Free Social Liberal Constitutional Party The Free Constitutional and Social Party is led by Mamdouh Qenawi, originally a judge at the Court of Cassation who was appointed to the Shura Council in 2005. The party, which was first created in 2004, displays a pronounced liberal bias and has demanded the drafting of a new constitution and the complete overhaul of the education and health sectors. It is also committed to the creation of a favourable investment atmosphere, quicker dispensation of justice, the elimination of red tape, reduced taxes and higher-quality public services. The party is also pressing for closer scrutiny of the state budget, the setting up of a poor bank, and for appointments of senior state officials to be ratified by the People's Assembly (PA) The party did not contest the 2005 elections, held less than 12 months after it was formed. This time the party itself will boycott the elections though 10 party members, including four women, are running as independents. "Though the party is boycotting the poll I cannot dictate to members and tell them they cannot stand," says Qenawi. Al-Geel Party The liberal Al-Geel Party was formed in February 2002. It is headed by Nagui El-Shehabi and espouses a platform based on "the inculcation of the principles of national unity into the fabric of Egyptian society, integration between Nile Basin countries, agriculture-oriented technology infra-structure, a long-term youth strategy, improved status of teachers and education, and a more active Egyptian role on the African, Arab and Islamic levels". The party is fielding 25 candidates, including three women, and El-Shehabi is hoping for at least three parliamentary seats following November's election. Egypt 2000 Party Egypt 2000 was created in 2001 by a court order. It is led by mathematician Fawzi Ghazal, who stood in the 2005 presidential election and was placed ninth. In 2004 the party became a member of the coalition of eight parties pushing for political reform through dialogue between the opposition and the regime. Other members of the coalition included Wafd, Tagammu, Labour, the Nasserist, Al-Wefaq and the Umma parties. The Egypt 2000 Party is fielding 120 candidates, 60 of them women. Its manifesto focuses on protecting civil liberties and freedom of expression and drafting a new constitution that guarantees free and fair elections. It seeks to speed up the rate of economic development, achieve food and water security and alleviate poverty. The Egyptian Arab Socialist Party The Egyptian Arab Socialist Party was established in 1976. Its first leader was former prime minister Mamdouh Salem. Two years later, the party was absorbed by the newly created NDP. Its activities were then frozen, only to be revived by court order in 1992. Current party leader is Wahid El-Uksori, who nominated himself in the 2005 presidential election. He came fifth with a meagre vote. The party is fielding 40 candidates in the parliamentary elections, six of them women. The party supports reserving 50 per cent of parliamentary seats for low-income citizens and workers, seeks to promote national unity by discouraging intolerance and sectarianism while cultivating political pluralism, supporting opposition groups and protecting freedom of expression. Al-Wefaq Party (The National Conciliation) The National Conciliation Party broke away from the Arab Democratic Nasserist Party in 2000. Under Mohamed Aql and Abdallah Shuhayb it was the first party in 22 years to obtain a licence from the Political Parties Committee. The party's current leader is Mohamed Rifaat. It espouses economic integration between Arab states and seeks greater self- sufficiency in agricultural production. In 2006 the party joined the "shadow government" movement comprising 10 of Egypt's smallest political parties. The Democratic Peace Party Established in 2005, it is currently led by Ahmed El-Fadali. The party is seeking to provide the unemployed with a mandatory LE150 monthly payment, and has pressed for major increases in civil service salaries in order to combat administrative corruption. El-Fadali attempted to stand as a candidate in the 2005 presidential elections but the Presidential Election Commission rejected his petition on the grounds that the Democratic Peace Party was founded after the presidential election law was passed. In April 2010, El-Fadali announced his intention to stand in next year's presidential poll. The party is nominating 83 candidates for November's elections, 10 of them women.
